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Volunteers and debris fill the streets of Joplin after a EF-5 tornado touched down on May 22, 2011. FEMA partners with federal, state and local governments, local businesses, volunteer and faith-based organizations to aid communities affected by disasters. Steve Zumwalt/FEMA

Joplin's Irving Elementary School was destroyed by a F-5 tornado on the evening of May 22nd. Jace Anderson/FEMA

Homes were leveled with the force of 200 mph winds as a F5 tornado struck the city the night of May 22, 2011. Jace Anderson/FEMA

A powerful tornado cut a swath 75 miles long May 10, from Oklahoma to Purdy, Mo., uprooting trees, tossing cars, flattening houses including this home in Granby. Michael Raphael/FEMA

Tornado Outbreaks Strain Emergency Managers

From April 25 to 28, 321 people were killed during a devastating tornado outbreak in the South.

Storms first hit Arkansas and Louisiana, pounded Mississippi and Alabama, and continued through Georgia and Tennessee, all the way up to Virginia. On April 27 alone, 314 people were killed — more tornado deaths in a single day than on any day since 1932.

About a month later, a tornado hit Joplin, Mo., and is estimated to have killed more than 130 people. The photos above shows volunteers and debris that fill the streets of Joplin after the EF-5 tornado touched down on May 22.